Adalbert of Italy
| Adalbert of Italy | |
|---|---|
| King of Italy | |
| Reign | 950–961 |
| Predecessor | Lothair II |
| Successor | Otto I |
| Consort | Gerberga of Mâcon |
| Father | Berengar of Ivrea |
| Mother | Willa of Tuscany |
| Born | c. 936 |
| Died |
30 April 971 Autun |
Adalbert (c. 936–971) was the Margrave of Ivrea (as Adalbert II) and a joint king of Italy with his father from 950 to 961.
Adalbert, born c. 936 was the son of the Margrave Berengar of Ivrea and Willa.[1] In 950, both he and his father were crowned kings of Italy after the death of Lothair II.[2] His father tried to force Adelaide, widow of Lothair, to marry Adalbert and cement their claim to the kingship. When she refused and fled, she was tracked down and imprisoned for four months at Como.[3]
In 951, King Otto I of Germany invaded Italy and rescued Adelaide, marrying her himself.[4] He forced Berengar and Adalbert to do homage to him for their kingdom in 952. In 953, Adalbert began besieging Count Adalbert Azzo of Canossa, in his Canossan castle, where Adelaide had taken refuge two years prior. In 957, Liudolf, Duke of Swabia, invaded Lombardy and caused Berenagar to flee, though Adalbert gathered a large force at Verona. He was defeated, but Liudolf died prematurely and his army left.
In 960, he joined his father in attacking the pope, John XII. Otto came down at the pope's call and defeated the two co-kings and was crowned Emperor.[5] When Otto drove him out of Italy Adalbert fled to Burgundy.[5] From there he fled to Corsica. When he returned, he tried to take Pavia, the Italian capital, but was defeated by another invading Swabian army, this time under Burchard III. Only the interference of his brothers Conrad and Guy, who died fighting, saved him to fight another day, which he never did. His negotiations with the Byzantine Empire fell through and he retired with his wife Gerberga to Burgundy. Adalbert died at Autun on 30 April 971.[1]
Family
Adalbert married, c. 956 Gerberga, Countess of Mâcon.[1] They had a son:
As Adalbert's widow Gerberga married secondly Henry I, Duke of Burgundy.[1] Henry I adopted his step-son Otto-William and left him the county of Burgundy and is thus the forefather of the Count of Burgundy.[5]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten, Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 59
- ↑ Eleanor Shipley Duckett, Death and Life in the Tenth Century (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1967), p. 70
- ↑ Eleanor Shipley Duckett, Death and Life in the Tenth Century (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1967), p. 71
- ↑ Roger Collins, Early Medieval Europe, 300–1000, Second Edition (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999), p. 400
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Constance Brittain Bouchard, Sword, Miter, and Cloister; Nobility and the Church in Burgundy, 980–1198 (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2009). p. 33
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Lothair II |
King of Italy 950–963 |
Succeeded by Otto I |